Negar Ahkami The Consumption

Leila Heller announced the opening of The Consumption, Negar Ahkami’s second solo exhibition at her gal- lery in New York City. The exhibition ran from June 6 – July 6, 2013. The Consumption features a selection of new works by Ahkami, including exuberant paintings with bas-relief surfaces that depict a variety of figures in water. A fully illustrated catalogue, with an essay by art historian Jane Panetta, accompanies the exhibition. Ahkami’s water imagery is calligraphic and patterned, inspired by Iran’s blue-tiled mosques, which have been said to symbolize water and nature. The artist uses all-over patterning and water symbolism expressionisti- cally, to convey a psychic loss of control. Families under water struggle to keep children afloat. Women sink on opulent loveseats, clinging to their possessions. Female figures submerged in patterned waves appear to be in ecstasy, willingly surrendering control. In these intense yet playful works, water acts as a symbol of struggle and passion. Emerging in Ahkami’s work is a new vocabulary of universal iconography exploring the human condition in today’s world. Her current works dialogue with monumental compositions of ancient Near Eastern rock reliefs. While in the past decade, Ahkami routinely created overtly political imagery, in 3 paintings in this exhibit, she revisits her iconography of melting Persianate cityscapes spreading cartoonishly towards the viewer. For Ah- kami, this caricature of Iran’s regime, and of fears of its nuclear threat, is a product of consumption “of media images that have distorted the view of Iran from a distance”. Her recent returns to this theme are spectacles of pattern that shift between entrancing and cartoonish, with more fascination than angst. Persian art influences continue to predominate in Ahkami’s new work. Her paintings’ relief-like textures, and glazes of deep blues and pearlescent whites, borrow from Iran’s lusterware and molded-relief ceramics. For Ahkami, the dynamic textures of these sources, and the obsessive, hand-made quality of the patterning, “carry the potential for a Persian-Islamic art that can be as emotive and personal as the exaggerated gestures and drips of Western expressionism.” Ahkami similarly exploits the expressive potential of complex pattern juxta- positions in Iranian art and architecture. Her depictions of figures in a cacophony of rhythmic pattern evoke their powerlessness against greater forces. Other influences apparent in her work include 1970s mattresses, majolica pottery, blue and white ceramics, as well as Matisse, Klimt and Pollock. Ahkami’s attraction to these sources emerged, in part, from her belief in their connections to Persian-Islamic aesthetics. Her paintings celebrate Persian art’s connectivity and its contributions to global visual culture. However rooted in her dialogues and influences, Ahkami’s art is distinctly her own, and represents her continued quest for a global art that honors Persian-Islamic art as well as Western traditions of individualism and free expression.

About Negar Ahkami Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1971, and raised in northern New Jersey, Ahkami lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Ahkami received a BA in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures from Columbia University, a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. Ahkami is currently participating in Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Swing Space residency on Governor’s Island. Other residencies include LMCC’s Workspace Resi- dency and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Her work has been included in group exhibitions in national and international venues, including Princeton University’s Bernstein Gallery, the Chelsea Art Museum, the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Longwood Art Gallery, and Stefan Stux Gallery. Ahkami’s work is represented in numerous public and private art collections, including The New Britain Museum of American Art (New Britain, CT), Depaul University Art Museum (Chicago, IL), and Farjam Collection (Dubai, UAE).

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Persian Heritage Vol. 18, No. 70 Summer 2013 www.persian-heritage.com FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK 6 Persian Heritage, Inc. 110 Passaic Avenue Letters to Editor 8 Passaic, NJ 07055 Iranian Firefighter Saves Lives 8 E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: (973) 471-4283 NewS Fax: 973 471 8534 Three Iranian-American Women in Tech 9 Susan Amini, the Newly Appointed Judge 9 Editor The First Successful Hand Transplant in Iran 10 Shahrokh Ahkami COMMENTARY Editorial Board Iranian-Americans (Maboud Ansari) 12 Dr. Mehdi Abusaidi, Shirin Ahkami Raiszadeh, Dr. Mahvash Alavi Naini, No Traces of Old Tree (poem) (Firouz Hejazi) 14 Mohammad Bagher Alavi, Dr. Talat Bassari, Mohammad H. Hakami, The Cyrus Cylinder, the Symbol 15 Ardeshir Lotfalian, K. B. Navi, Dr. Kamshad Raiszadeh, Farhang A. of Great Leadership and Human Rights Sadeghpour, Mohammad K. Sadigh, Dr. David Yeagley. Olympics and Iran-US Relations 15 Theft of Persian Artistic and Cultural Heritage 16 Managing Editor HALLEH NIA (Davood Rahni)

advertising What is Iranish? 16 HALLEH NIA Mapping the Iranian Genome 17

* The contents of the articles and ad­ver­ 2013 National Survey of Iranian-Americans 17 tisements in this journal, with the ex­ception of the edi­torial, are the sole works of each THE ARTS & Culture in­di­vidual writers and contributors. This maga­ zine does not have any confirmed knowledge REVIEWS 18 as to the truth and ve­racity of these articles. Irandokht: Daughters of Iran 19 all contributors agree to hold harmless and indemnify Persian Heri­tage (Mirass-e Iran), The Art of Kevin Hosseini 20 Persian Heritage Inc., its editors, staff, board of directors, and all those indi­ ­viduals directly­ Interview with Professor Fazlollah Reza 21 associated with the publishing­ of this maga- zine. The opinions ex­pressed in these articles (Shahrokh Ahkami) are the sole opinions of the writers and not the journal. No article or pic­ture submitted will be The Promise of Almaty (Omid Irani) 24 returned to the writer or contributor. All articles The City of Polish Children 26 submitted in English­ must be typed. * The appearance of advertising in this maga­ A Monologue (Alexander Tamraz) 28 zine does not constitute a guar­an­tee or en­ dorsement of the products by Persian Heri­tage. Abu Ali Sina (Avecenna) 29 In addition, articles and letters published do not reflect the views of this publication. My Journey in Life (poem) (Bahar Bastani) 29 * Letters to the Editor should be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to the above addresses and num­bers. Interview with Dr. Fereydoun Ala 30 The journal reserves the right to edit same for (Shahrokh Ahkami) space and clarity or as deemed appro­priate. * All requests for permissions and reprints must be made in writing to the managing editor. Published by persian heritage, inc. IMPORTANT NOTICE A corporation organized for cultural and All written sub­missions to Persian Heritage­ with the expec­ ­tation of lit­erary purposes publication in the magazine­ must include the writer’s name, address Cover Price: $6.00 Subscriptions: $24.00/year (domestic); and telephone number.­ When an article is submitted we assume the $30.00 & 50.00/year (International) author has complete ownership of the article and the right to grant Typesetting & Layout permission for publication. TALIEH PUBLICATIONS

Summer 2013 5 From the Editor’s Desk

The launch of the summer issue of Persian Heritage a medal.” magazine coincides with the Presidential elections in Iran. Now, Iran once a strong and prosperous nation, like me It is hard to believe four years have passed since the incep- with the marathon, has finished at the end of the pack. Who tion of Iran’s Green Movement. The movement, for Iranians is to blame for this? Is it due to a lack of credibility and a in Iran, ignited a flame, a symbol of hope for, freedom of lack of ability of its leaders? Is this the best results Iran could choice, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom to co hope to achieve? Was there anyway Iran could have a higher exist, freedom to follow your lifestyle choice, simply put for ranking, under the current regime? Iran, my friends, according basic human rights. The flame that burned so brightly, fueled to world opinion is the LAST TO BE LOVED AND FIRST by the dreams and desires of Iranian citizens was quickly TO BE HATED. Why would this be so surprising? After so extinguished. The dreams and hopes for freedoms and hu- much chaos, negative propaganda and Iran’s president’s knack man rights were reduced to ashes; peoples joy returned to for creating enemies, why would we think Iran would have a despair and defeat. Many Iranian citizens, young, middle age better outcome? WHY? Because we know that what the world and elderly, found themselves in jails. They lost their sweet is seeing is not the real Iran and not a real Iranian! As I have lives and their hopes for a better future was temporarily lost; repeatedly written in my editorials, because of negative press, temporarily because deep in their hearts the ember and the mostly by the west, the world is unable to separate the people thirst for a better tomorrow remains alive. They continue to of Iran from its government! sacrifice for liberty, equality and brotherhood. Iran and Iranians have been under pressure and suppres- The Iranian press and media found themselves under sion for a very long time. It is not because it is a poor nation continued pressure and soon were altogether suppressed. In lacking in resources. Over the past eight years, Iran has re- a recent poll on the popularity of countries around the world, ceived more income from oil exporting, than they have over shamefully Iran placed 191 out of 197 for “freedom of press.” its entire history of oil production! Hence why are the people Arrests and the jailing of reporters, journalists and writers suffering, living at poverty level? Who is benefiting from the awarded Iran the number one country for censorship. wealth? How can leadership watch its citizens struggle to Recent worldwide opinion polls placed Germany and survive? And surviving is what most Iranian citizens struggle Germans as the most loved and respected people and nation to do everyday. in the world. Iran is listed as one of the least loved or the most It is not uncommon to hear people from the west ask. “If hated. Being at the bottom reminded me of my marathon things are so bad for them over there why don’t they revolt running days. I participated in 35 marathons (42km or 26.2 and topple the government?” Unfortunately those who ask miles, most of them New York City Marathons). Because of this question are naïve. They do not understand that if one my lack of training due to a busy schedule and often laziness, I lifts a finger or verbally protests against the regime, they was always amazed to successfully complete each marathon I will be greeted with a bullet or sent to prison. Of course, it is started. In the beginning I would finish midway out of 25,000 human nature, for those sitting outside of the ring of turmoil, to 30,000 runners. As time marched my finishing position to suggest a next move for the players in the ring. It is easy was with the bottom 2,000 to 3,000. Regardless of the pain I for us to do this because we have nothing to lose. But for the endured during the race, the ember inside of me pushed me Iranians fighting this battle, life is precious. They have seen to finish what I started (I know in my heart that Iran’s citizens enough loss of its youth and other citizens! will also kindle their ember for freedom and finish what they A few days ago I read in the paper that Israeli officials started four years ago.) are upset with the departure of President Ahmadinejad. They After every race my friends and associates would ask me are upset with the departure of a man who is a symbol of in- “what number did you come in?” I would always respond, ability as a leader; a man who at the United Nations said there “I was the number one finisher from the bottom.” For a split was a halo circling his head, a man who denied the holocaust second they would not understand this response until I added, and a man who has been the direct cause of hatred towards “After 26.2 miles and my age, please do not ask me what himself, Iranians and Iran. The reason they are upset was not number I came in, I am just grateful to cross the line and get because they like and respect him. They were upset because

6 No. 70 F R O M T H E E D I T O R ’ S D E S K they are losing a leader of a country who helped them fuel have a successful and bright future. They eagerly assimilated world hatred against Iran and therefore strengthened Israel’s into their new homes and neighborhoods. Their hard work and world position and cause. Ahmadinejad has helped the world sacrifices has paid off. Today they have gained the respect and believe that he and Iran could be the next Hitler and cause the friendship of their neighbors and most importantly have seen death of millions of innocent people. their children achieve in all aspects of life. It is my deepest The ignorance and failure to lead a country by this Presi- wish that this same outcome of success and respect by its dent is as harmful as the eight-year war created by Saddam neighbors will be the future for Iran and its people. It is my Hussein. Unfortunately, the leaders of Iran extended the war dream that their sacrifices and hard work in their quest for in the hopes of defeating their rivals and opposition. At what freedom will also be achieved. cost, I ask? It is important that we understand, however, they are still During these past eight years Ahmadinejad has brought fighting a battle. It is important to understand their opportuni- shame to Iran, created an economic and social crisis for Iran’s ties have been diminished by their rulers. They continue to be citizens and imprisoned or eliminated all of his opponents. suppressed! And, it is important for us to understand at any This has happened in a country rich in culture, history, honor given time, because of pressure by the western powers, Iran and the founders of human rights. and its citizens can face another war; a war that will result in Understand that this issue and editorial has gone to press the deaths of innocent people and perhaps the physical divi- before the actual Iranian elections. I pray the shameful events sion of the country. of June 2009 will not be repeated. I hope I will not read about Let us hope the day when their difficulties are lifted is killings, beatings and suppression of those who simply ask, in the near future. Let us hope the day they can reach their “Where is my vote?” Instead I hope to read that the youth of dreams and goals is in the near future. Let us hope the day Iran have been given greater opportunity of education and can when they will gain freedom is in the near future. Let us hope use their intelligence to compete in education and business the gates to the world opening for them is in the near future. rather than on a battlefield. Let us hope the day when Iranians around the world can freely As you turn the pages of this issue of Persian Heritage, reunite with friends and family around the world is in the near you will see that we are featuring two men of science and future. And finally let us hope this is all attained without the medicine Dr. Fereydoun Ala and Professor Fazlollah Reza. loss of one more life. These individuals have attained worldwide respect and admi- THEIR DAYS FOR FREEDOM CAN NO LONGER BE ration, yet remain close to Iran and its people. Also included in IN THE DISTANCE!!! this issue are pictures of paintings by an artist and my daughter, Negar Ahkami. I mention this because I am extremely proud of her success in the art world. I am even prouder for the way she has embraced her Persian culture and heritage. Negar, born in the United States, spent roughly 60 days in Iran during the course of her lifetime. But that short exposure to the country and its people, and lifetime exposure to the cultures and tra- ditions, by her parents, touched her heart. Her connection to Iran is evidenced in her paintings through color and subject Don’t Forget Your matter. Each time I look at her paintings and her face I see a genuine love and concern for suppressed people in the world, not just Iran. For this I am very proud! These are the people and many still out there that we must Persian Heritage introduce to the world. We must make our neighbors aware that the majority of the 75 million Iranians in the world are Subscribe Today! peace loving and humanitarians. They are hard workers who will do what they need to do to provide for their families. Advertise They are a group who seeks friendship and respect from its neighbors; they are some of the first to extend a hand to those Your Business in need regardless of race, religion or social status. Over the past thirty years Iranians’ by choice or force left Here Iran. Many left with just a suitcase and education. Most left as professionals, yet when they arrived at their new homes they (973) 471-4283 were willing to take any job or position in order to provide for their families, all with the hope that their children would www.persian-heritage.com

Summer 2013 7 L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Norooz Messages touched You Deserve a Medal my heart deeply Dear Editor: Your Norooz message was truthful, daring, and irrefutable. Congratulations. Happy anniversary. Keep up the good work. It came from your heart and touched mine deeply. I was filled You deserve an Iranian medal of cultural honor. with pride when I listened to your tape praising exalted Iranian/ As usual very diverse and entertaining. Americans who, one way or the other, have been contributing to S.Pourfar the advancement of their new and adopted country. Your message brought to light how adverse propaganda could be utilized to destroy the integrity of the Iranian people as well as millions and Iranian Firefighter Saves Lives, millions of peaceful Muslims due to evil acts of a few extremists. I hope your voice will reach and inspire the mass media, dis- Even After His Death regard of political manipulations, to understand and respect each nation based on what it truly represents rather than its ethnic or religious background. After all, the most fundamental principles of journalism are impartiality, fairness, and factuality. Azar Aryanpour

A Most Excellent Magazine I am thankful to have received a copy of the Norooz edition of your most excellent magazine ‘Persian Heritage’, with so many interesting articles and features. I especially admired the beauti- ful cover showing the Fritillaria Imperialis in the wild. This is an unforgettable sight in the mountains of Lorestan early in Spring. Fereydoun Ala

What a Source of Pride It is nice to read the degree and the magnitude of Iranian achievements even in a relative short time. What a source of constant pride. F. Beroukhim

Art Limo Services 24 hrs 7, days a week Suv, Stretch Van The survivor girl holding her saver’s picture at his Funeral Roozbeh Keihani According to Jalal Maleki, the spokesman of Iran’s Fire- 201 953 6554 fighters Organization, body parts of firefighter Omid Abbasi will be offered to patients in need of transplants. Abbasi died [email protected] during a mission in north Tehran after saving a girl from a fire in a residential complex. Jalal Maleki told Mehr News that “firefighters received a call informing of a fire at a residential building in Bagheri برای تهیه لیموزین neighborhood in Tehran at 2:18 PM on Tuesday. A young woman with her two children had been trapped برای مراسم خود با روزبه كیهانی متاس بگیرید. inside an apartment. The woman managed to escape along شیك، متیز و با سرویس كامل with her son, but her 9-year-old daughter was hanging from a window and was on the brink of a free fall when she was saved by the firefighters. A young firefighter, Omid Abbasi, gave his oxygen mask to 9-year-old girl. But he himself subsequently suffered brain death. However, this was not the end for the young firefighter, as his family decided, in a laudable act, to give his body parts to be transplanted to patients in need of his organs. Arrangements for transplanting of organs of young fire- fighter have been made in Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran. (Sources: Mehr News Agency&ISNA)

8 No. 70 N E W S Three Iranian-Americans Among The 30 Most Important Women Under 30 In Tech

Parisa Tabriz Soraya Darabi Roxanne Varza

Parisa Tabriz manages Google’s of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and was Roxanne Varza currently runs some information security engineering team advised by Nikita Borisov. of Microsoft’s startup-related initiatives at Google, which is responsible for im- SorayaDarabi is a two-time entre- in Europe, specifically its BizSpark and proving Google’s product security. This preneur working on her latest venture, Spark programs. Prior to joining Mi- team of “hired hackers” conducts security Zady. Zady is still in stealth mode, but crosoft, Varza worked as the editor of design and code reviews, builds and en- has already raised a $1.35 million round TechCrunch France. She is also VP of hances Google technology to make secure led by NEA. Prior to starting Zady, Darabi Business Development and Partnerships development possible and easy, conducts founded Foodspotting, a geo-local guide for Girls in Tech Global and started and security engineering training, and does for finding quality eats around you. Earlier leads the French and British chapters of vulnerability response. Parisa received this year, Open Table acquired the startup the organization. her B.S. and M.S. from the University for $10 million. Source: Business Insider Newly Appointed Iranian-American Judge Makes History

Susan Amini was appointed to King County Superior Court judge position 20 in Washington State. Ms. Amini is the second Iranian American to serve as a Superior Court judge in the country, and the first of Middle Eastern descent in Washington state history. At the courthouse ceremony, Governor Jay Inslee described Susan Amini as someone who “believes strongly in equal access to justice, regardless of a person’s economic status, education level, or disability,” and said “she has worked tirelessly to help eliminate barriers that exist within our court system. “ Born in Iran, Susan Amini was educated at Catholic schools in Tehran and Paris and received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Tehran University and J.D. degree from University of Maryland School of Law. She began her legal career as a public defender before estab- Two in the mid: Cyrus Habib and Susan Amini lishing her own law practice, in 1994, focusing on criminal defense, family law and immigration. Ms. Amini has also served as a King County District Pro Tempore judge since 1994, and currently serves as a King County Bar Association Trustee and is a member of the Washington State Trial Lawyers. Susan Amini is also considered an expert in the rights of individuals with disabilities. Part of her expertise comes from raising a child with a disability. Her son, Cyrus Habib, lost his eyesight in early childhood to a rare eye cancer and has been fully blind since age 8. Susan Amini’s term as King County Superior Court judge begins on May 13, 2013. By SolmazElmi-Sarabi, National Iranian American Council (NIAC)

Summer 2013 9 N E W S

The First Successful Hand Transplant Surgery in the Middle East Performed in Tehran brain dead person was transplanted to a 37 years old man who had lost his hand 6 years ago in an accident while using a meat grinder.” The Deputy of Beheshti University of Medical Sciences added: “the transplant of hand operation for one’s own mem- ber have been done numerous times, and there are plenty of people who have lost their hands in an accident, and we have transplanted [their hand] back to their own body in this hospital.” “The importance of this unique operation is that for the first time in Iran, Middle East, and Eastern Mediterranean countries, we have used a hand from a brain dead person, and transplanted it to another person.” He added: “this hand transplant with all details and links to nerves, and the vessels was successfully been finished, and blood is running in the transplanted hand, but whether the man Members of the Tehran’s 15th Khordad Hospital sur- can move his transplanted hand or not? Time would tell, we gery team have successfully completed hand transplant sur- need at least two weeks before we can tell.” gery during 8.5 hours of breathtaking procedure. Yavary added: “measures including chemotherapy to Masoud Yavary in an interview with Pars health reporter prevent rejection after the transplant must be continued, but said: “this transplant operation was performed in an ultra the transplant has been completely successful.” specialized ward of the 15th Khordad Hospital He continued: After a week has been also reported that the man is able “in this transplant operation, the wrist of a 25 year old young to move his fingures and it was shown in a video clip on line.

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The following articles are the main points of the introduction of my newly published book, IRANIAN-AMERICANS, (2013) by Edwin MellenPress.This book is the first in-depth sociological study of the making of the Iranian-American community.

The major Iranian experience of the by a rich historical heritage and strong past three decades has been one of forced sense of “Iranianness.”…. emigration, be it to the United States or to It is ironic that while the tragedy of almost any other country. This significant American-Iranian relations (hostage crisis movement created history’s largest con- of 1979)was still unfolding and the Islam- centration of Iranian Diaspora.Those who ization of Iran was already underway, a involuntary left Iran in the early 1980s new secular “Little Iran” inside America could not imagine that their place of exile was growing increasingly Americanized would eventually become a permanent and rapidly asserting itself as a high status home.According to the 2010 U.S. Census, ethnic community. This new community it is estimated that approximately 464,000 in the United States was comprised of Iranian-Americans reside in the United many of Iran’s intellectuals, profession- States. However, other estimates put the als, entrepreneurs and capitalists who are size of the Iranian-American population assimilating today in remarkable and un- as somewhere between 500,000 to 1 mil- expected ways. lion. Of this number, more than two thirds From the start, the Iranian experience are first-generation Americans, arriving in the U.S. has been a blend of ethnic pride since 1980…. and resourceful participation in American The Iranian migration to the United society. However, their Iranian pride does States began over 50 years ago with the not just come from where they came from study abroad of young Iranians. How- getting the old homeland. On the contrary, but from what they’ve been able to achieve ever, it was the Iranian revolution of after thirty three years, they have in their in the United States. Despite the setback of 1979, which was both organizationally own terms, remained Iranian and show a tragic political events such as the hostage and culturally crucial to the making of the commitment to passing on their “Iranian- crisis, September 11th and 33 years of Iranian community in the United States. ness” to the next generation commitment animosity between the two governments, Emigration was the last outlet for political to passing on their “Iranianness” to the the Iranian-Americans today are one of the frustration experienced by large number of next generation…. most successful of all recent immigrant Iranians. It was a voluntary decision but Iran is one of the world’s oldest con- groups. contained involuntary factors…. tinuing civilizations and has one of its As one of the recent, premier eth- What is most significant about the richest and most diverse cultures. Like nic communities in America, the Iranian Iranian community today is its continuing the United States, Iran is a multilin- community has had a largely positive in- growth. In three decades, Iranians in the gual society, which has a religious and fluence on American society, particularly United States have grown from a scat- an ethno-linguistic dimension. Each of on the American economy. Herein lies tered, dually marginal, ambivalent and these groups has played a major role in the supreme irony of the closing decade uncertain immigrant group (123,000 in the revival of Iran as a nation-state in the of America’s post-World War II imperial 1980) into a new ethnic community of wake of the various Arab and Mongolian claim over Iran; Iran’s loss ultimately close to 500,000 or more. Today, more invasions throughout its history.The popu- turned out to be America’s gain. Today, Iranians live in the United States than in lation that calls itself Iranian-American or as the nation of Iran is passing through its any other country in the world except Iran. Persian-American is extremely diverse. own critical historical moments,Iranian- With the current rate of influx and birth, As a community, Iranian-Americans re- Americans are also making their own so- the Iranian population in the U.S. is ex- flect much of the religious, cultural, social cial history though not under conditions pected to triple by 2020… and regional diversity of Iranian society. of their choosing. Moreover, a profound demographic As such, they are comprised of numerous Despite the fact that the relationship change with wide-reaching implications subgroups defined in terms of ethnicity, between Iran and the United States has is taking place in the Iranian-American religious affiliation, occupational sta- been highly strained all these years,the community; the growing number of sec- tus, political ideology, lifestyle and age. Iranian community has not only been ca- ond-generation Iranian-Americans. The However, despite their extreme diversity, pable of withstanding major challenges integration that follows does not mean for- Iranian-Americans are nevertheless bound but has continued to contribute toward the

12 No. 70 C O M M E N T A R Y advancement of the quality of life for all have truly “arrived” in America and are tage crisis had the most formative effect Americans at an unprecedented level…. making their own history. Much of this on U.S. foreign policy towards Iran and Since their earliest arrival, the Iranian history-making contains the best of both the public views of Iranians and even Is- immigrants differed from other immigrants world adaptations. In doing so, Iranian- lam as a whole.Over the last thirty years, by their high socioeconomic background. Americans borrow heavily from their host the images, words, sounds, films, radio They belong to a generation of upwardly society as well as from the resurrected and television reinforced the negative mobile, secularized cosmopolitans. As of imagery, symbolism and cultural heritage anti-Iranian, anti-Islamic sentiments. As 2009, Iranian-Americans had the highest of ancient Persia. In this state, even as a result, Iranian immigrants were trans- educational attainment level and median the Iranian-American community con- formed in the public imagination from household income of any ethnic (or ra- tinues to accommodate to the American friendly foreigners to enemy aliens.In a cial) group in the United States. Today, context, it rummages the distant past to manner reminiscent of the experience of American-trained professionals comprise self-consciously maintain and/or recreate Japanese-Americans in the 1940s, Iranians the largest occupational segment of Ira- its ethnic identity or “Iranianness.” Thus, residing in the United States became the nian-Americans. An occupational profile the ethnic identity of this community, as immediate targets of American anger and of Iranians in the United States shows that modified by its American experience, is frustration. Paradoxically, Iranian immi- they rank very high in the percentage of not simply Iranian but is something that grants and the political refugees who allied the population working in professional and is grounded more in Iranian nationalism themselves with Americans against the managerial occupations…. and secular ideas…. extremist religious government in Iran felt Iranian-Americans hold promi- The anti-Iranian sentiments in the that Americans resented them and unfairly nent positions in American society such United States then are a fairly recent phe- blamed them for the hostage crisis. as senior executives at Fortune 500 nomenon. It was during the anti-monarchi- Following the hostage crisis a virulent companies,presidents of universities, phy- al revolutionary movement of 1978-79, anti-Iranian sentiment spread. Though, sicians with distinction, distinguished pro- with its sharp anti-American edge and the discrimination and prejudice are common fessors and scientists, engineers, nurses, hostage crisis of 1980, that anti-Iranian problems confronting immigrant groups social workers, computer experts, lawyers sentiments in the U.S. reached its apex. in the U.S, Iranian-Americans had been at prestigious law firms, professional ath- The hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis singled-out more so than any other group letes, top executives at Google, top scien- between Iran and the United States, where since they were facing dual prejudices- tists in NASA, an eBay inventor, Deputy a group of Islamist students took over the being Iranians and being Muslims. The Assistant to the President, philanthropists, American Embassy in Tehran and held 52 anti-Iranian reaction was so widespread editors, senior correspondents, chief econ- Americans hostage for 444 days from No- that it forced many Iranian-Americans to omists, architects, designers, consultants, vember 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981. Anti- either change their names or to misrep- bankers, writers, journalists and artists, Islamic sentiment that Iranian immigrants resent their ethnic identity because one’s all of whom are making significant con- experienced during this time, was the first Iranian identity was a stigma to be hidden tributions…. major example of media-driven stereo- or evaded as much as possible. To avoid While Iranians can be found in a va- types about Middle Eastern Americans potential confrontations and differential riety of occupations, one striking aspect is being perpetuated in the United States…. treatment, most Iranian-Americans started their self-employment rate of 22 percent, During the entire fourteen months to call themselves Persian-Americans. making them one of the most entrepre- of the hostage crisis, American citizens However, as the conflict between Iran and neurial ethnic groups in the United States. (including Iranian-Americans) watched the U.S. escalated, more and more anti- It is estimated that they are among the in horror and anger as the slogans “Death Iranian, anti-Islamic incidents of varying top twenty-five immigrant groups with to America” and “Death to the Liberals” degrees in seriousness occurred within the the highest self-employment rate. There became increasingly part of the ritualistic Iranian-American community. is growing evidence that such a high rate chants of the religious masses in Friday Among Iranian-Americans, the years of self-employment has played an impor- prayer in Tehran. The whole nation’s col- of hatred toward Iranians loom as a de- tant role in the economic adaptation of lective psyche and pride became bruised cisive experience, which had a devastat- the newly arrived Iranian immigrants in since never before had the U.S. govern- ing effect upon their children. Negative the United States…. ment been subjected to this type of con- characterizations have had a damaging Iranian immigration also brought one frontation which it deemed uncompromis- effect on the self-image of Iranians. De- of the most significant waves of affluent ing. Therefore, a wave of anti-Iranian sen- spite the Iranian-Americans’ high rate of families to the United States. Regarding timent swept across America and served as citizenship at the time and their remark- those super-rich Iranians or “money refu- an anti-Iranian rallying point for years to able contributions toward building a better gees,” there is no success like exile. They come. Eventually Iran became an Ameri- American society, they became, yet again, are today, most likely naturalized Ameri- can national obsession. It was transformed victims of defamation, negative media ste- cans and have established themselves as from being an American allyto a member reotyping and discrimination…. wealthy real estate developers, bankers of President Bush’s “Axis of Evil. Thus, Another major event after the hostage and successful businesspeople in corpo- anti-Iranian sentiment emerged as the first crisis that fueled the anti-Iranian, anti- rate America. Wherever Iranian-American xenophobic reaction to the humiliation of Muslim feeling in the United States was entrepreneurs have concentrated their ef- America during the hostage crisis and the the publication of the book, Not without forts, they have injected new dynamism hatred of Iranians in the U.S. grew fast and My Daughterin 1984.This book and espe- into local and national economies…. deep among Americans…. cially its 1991 movie adaptation were met Today, people of Iranian origin The Iranian revolution and the hos- with angry reactions from Iranian-Amer-

Summer 2013 13 C O M M E N T A R Y icans offended by what they considered cal conditions in the homeland. The exile a biased depiction of their culture. Many mentality was functional for the group as agreed that the movie portrayed Iranians a whole because it was a survival strategy No Traces of as mean, irrational and fanatical…. allowing the undecided immigrant to live The September 11, 2001 attacks were and remain hopeful for an eventual return Old Trees a tragic event in the lives of many Ameri- to Iran. Nevertheless, the political immi- cans, and Iranians living in the United grants maintained a “mission” orientation; Firouz Hejazi States were no exception. The first reac- a national commitment towards an even- tion of many Iranian-Americans to the at- tual return to their homeland. However, tacks was disbelief followed by fear. Many since they were diverse as a community They opened the gate, Iranian-Americans were angered by the and politically divided and disillusioned, and Greeted me in a warm manner terrorists who they believed had betrayed their “mission” orientation did not func- Smiling, I put my bundle down the ideal of Islam and had hijacked their tion as an organizational element in the religion. After the tragedy, Iranian people Iranian Diaspora in the United States…. I greeted some strangers too were the only group in the Islamic commu- Being essentially one generation re- As I was looking around nity that took to the streets in Iran and held moved from their homeland, Iranians in Several strangers were staring at me a candlelight vigil in solidarity with the the United States have retained strong cul- With curiosity; if I was one of them Americans. Similarly, in the United States, tural and emotional ties with Iran. When the Iranian community was among the very it comes to home politics, Iranian-Amer- A part of the house was still there first ethnic groups that condemned the ter- icans today are incredibly diverse and the But the place of a few, was empty rorist act and showed its support by con- differences are not only generational. In They were missing, tributing to the World Trade Center Relief fact, what makes the Iranian-Americans Fund. The Iranian-American community even more intriguing, aside from their re- not just in that home, of New York had a full page advertise- markable achievements, is the complexity But also in me, ment on the first page of The New York of their community itself. The complex- and I had to sit down Times expressing profound sadness and ity of the Iranian-American community is Behind the door condemning the attacks of 9/11/2001 as a characterized by several layers of social, vicious criminal act, calling it “inexcusable economic and political distinction…. from lack of strength and without any justification in Islam or The most remarkable achievement of There were no traces of old trees authentic Muslim tradition”…. the last century for Iranian immigrants has But around the front yard, In the beginning, the predominant been the making of the Iranian community orientation of the majority of the post- in America. Today, Iranian-Americans are noisy crops revolution political immigrants was the more conscious of the fact that they have Had earned them pride of hope for eventual return to Iran. A pow- already become ethnic Americans. The their heritage erful nostalgic feeling was central to the new second-generation Iranian-Ameri- I did not say I was hearing voices mind of the immigrant, particularly the cans are already expanding the idea of refugees and self-exiles. The nostalgia assimilation to include more of reverse Of the people I grew up with. for some individuals was frequently ac- assimilation-- molding a culture of their I did not say that I was seeing companied by a sense of guilt, disguised own in which they are representative of faces which or unrecognized, at having left home…. two cultures. For political immigrants with an ex- The Iranian-American community Were looking at me ile mentality, the political affairs of Iran is fairly unique in a sense: it is undergo- from behind the years were of foremost importance. The public ing assimilation to the American context Like the time of my childhood. discourse among the political group was just like most other ethnic communities However, I knew that largely preoccupied with the political con- have done. At the same time, however, ditions in the homeland. The exile mental- the defensiveness caused by the hostage they had been gone ity was functional for the group as a whole crisis, and the fact that they have a very But I did not want to say, because it was a survival strategy allowing strong literary and cultural heritage, has or ask questions the undecided immigrant to live and remain led them to search the distant past to self- hopeful for an eventual return to Iran. consciously attempt to create an ethnic Then, I accepted their invitation Up until the early 1990s, Iranians identity that is grounded more in an an- I walked with them nodding, smiling remained obsessed with the impossible cient Persia, since they apparently have However, in reality desire of returning to Iran. It was impossi- difficulty identifying with contemporary I was still behind the door ble because given the Islamization of Iran Iran. Therefore, the ethnic identity and after the revolution; the homeland they community they are creating is not sim- Sitting in silence once knew no longer existed except as ply Iranian, as modified by the American with all the memories memories. For political immigrants with experience; it is also something broader, And the hot moving tears an exile mentality, the political affairs of as a result of their rejection of contem- Iran were of foremost importance. The porary Iran. They turn to the symbolism inside the veins public discourse among the political group and imagery of something that is neither Of my battered body. was largely preoccupied with the politi- American nor strictly Iranian. ■

14 No. 70 C O M M E N T A R Y 2600 Years of World History COULD AN OLYMPIC SPORT Makes U.S. Debut BE THE HEALER OF IRAN AND US RELATIONS?

The Cyrus Cylinder, considered to be the Iconic Object Lauded as Symbol of Great Leadership and Human Rights was on display at the Sackler Museum, Washington DC, from March 9 through April 28. The Cyrus Cylinder, sometimes referred to as the first “bill of human rights,” traces its origins to the Per- sian king Cyrus the Great’s conquest of Babylon in the sixth century B.C. Almost 2,600 years later, its remarkable People have so much more in common than what legacy continues to shape contempo- our government’s propaganda leads us to believe. rary political debates, cultural rhetoric and philosophy. It is on loan from the For certain Iran and the United States do not see eye toeye on the politi- British Museum. After the Sackler it cal field.But to wrestling, Mitch Hull the director of the US national team will continue Houston, New York, San believes, that Iran is one of the strongest American allies. He stated this Francisco and Los Angeles. before his trip to Iran this past February and said his team and Iran would The Cylinder a football-sized, stand arm in arm in an effort to reverse the decision of the International barrel-shaped clay object covered in Babylonian cuneiform, one of the Olympic Committee to exclude wrestling from the 2020 games. earliest written languages-announced Mr. Hull stated that he had great confidence in gaining the support of Cyrus’ victory and his intention to allow the Iranian wrestling federation, Iranian wrestlers and the Iranian people freedom of worship to his new peoples. to show the world that,”no matter what is happening politically, we have When placed in context, it becomes the same goal and the same belief and passion for the sport of wrestling.” evident that Cyrus allowed displaced During the week, Zeke Jones, the US freestyle coach said a number of Jews to return to Jerusalem, one of the countries including, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Japan etc. most important religious events of the metto discuss how they can join forces to reverse the IOC’s decision. He said ancient world. Cyrus’ legacy as a great there would be no problem in unifying all to reach their goal. and diplomatic leader inspired rulers While this unified action may impact wrestling most are doubtful that it for millennia, from Alexander the Great will change the political turmoil between the two countries. But, the world is to Thomas Jefferson, and the Cylinder itself was used as a symbol for religious shrinking because of technology the world is traveling and meeting people freedom, the veracity of the Bible, and they once believed foreign and the enemy. The world is beginning to under- peace in the Near East. stand that while there will be differences, when it comes to the basics we are “You could almost say that the all the same. We want to have freedom, to worship as we want, to study as Cyrus Cylinder is a history of the Mid- we want, to be in love, get married, have children, see their smiles, watch dle East in one object, creating a link them achieve and go on with their lives. So those looking at this simple to a past that we all share and to a key wrestling match and unification should not be so quick to believe that it will moment in history that has shaped the not have a positive impact on the future. world around us,” said Neil MacGregor, As a result of the February match the United States Wrestling Federa- director of the British Museum. “Ob- tion is scheduled to host a match with Russia and Iran at Grand Central jects are uniquely able to speak across Station in May. time and space, and this object must be shared as widely as possible.”

Summer 2013 15 C O M M E N T A R Y Theft of Persian Artistic So what is and Cultural Heri tage IRANISH you ask? Davood Rahni to go to Rumi’s Mausoleum in Dear Friends: Konia Turkey, and read, under- I have coined a new stand and impart Rumi’s poet- word that should be added to ry as inscribed on this tomb to a lexicon of the Iranian cultural others, whereas the most pro- words, if not to the Websters ficient Turkish tourist guide dictionary. It is IRANISH. The or scholars cannot read even ish suffix is not intended to a word of these otherwise bril- make the word a relation but liant Rumi’s Persian poetry! rather an approximation. Not Whereas one should has- like ish in Irish or Swedish as ten to reiterate that there is NO a nationality but rather close statistically significant genetic approximation. For example, bio-markers among the people I will be there sixish, give or Jalal-e-din Mohammad Balkhi Rumi of Iran, Turkey, Armenia, “Az- Nezami Gangavi take 15 minutes. So what is arbaijan” Afghanistan, Tajiki- IRANISH, please allow me to The purpose of this com- stan, or even Iraq, etc., history predominant languages in cer- elaborate: mentary is to share with you teaches us there is a vast area tain era, Persian was also the If you are a citizen or a and your colleagues the grow- spanning from northern India most common (oral and writ- long time resident of another ing perspectives and concerns to central and southwest Asia ten) language for almost two country, you are no longer by a large number of indepen- and the Trans-caucuses, Ara- millennia. Iranian, you are Iranish. dent scholars worldwide with bia and North Africa that was In fact, the language of If your children do not respect to the well-orchestrat- once governed by the Persian Divan, the governments in Tur- speak Persian or speak it with ed and lucratively financed Empire, which is now com- key, Baghdad and India among an accent of your residence (albeit covert and subversive) prised of several dozen sover- others was Persian for almost country, you are no longer futile efforts by political pun- eign nations. a millennium. As to Altaic Ui- Iranian, you are Iranish. dits in southwestern Asia Let us remember today’s ghur (Turkish) dialect brought (Iran’s neighbors, i.e., the Iran, still diverse for its citi- in by a few sheep/horse herd- If you cannot make good Turkish government and the zenry, and in lieu of its repres- ing tribes (e.g., Ghare-ghoy- complete Persian sentences totalitarian regime in Baku) sive system of government, is ounlou, Agh-ghoyounlu) from without the use of foreign to retroactively fabricate ul- only a fraction of what PER- northwestern Mongolia-China words, you are no longer Ira- tra-nationalistic and cultural SIA/IRAN once was. In fact, and acquired by the majority nian, you are Iranish. identities that have no histori- a dozen newly established Iranian and closely related If you don’t know what cal basis whatsoever. As to countries in central Asia and stock indigenous inhabitants month or day it is in Persian Turkey, this is the reminis- the trans-caucuses were inte- of the trans-caucuses, central Calendar without searching for cent of the Ottoman Empire gral provinces of Iran through Asia and northwestern Iran, it it, you are no longer Iranian, defeated in WWI and after it the 19th century when in two laid the foundation for a truly you are Iranish. has annihilated 2 million Ar- separate treaties unilaterally hybridized language, AZARI, If your only connection menians in a genocide against imposed, by the Russian Tzars, that also had major Persian and remaining with Iran has been humanity, now resurrected, to on the inept Persian Shahs of to some extent Arabic in the reduced to Persian food, oc- reclaim a vast territory under Qajar dynasty, were taken philology. casional Persian music etc., “Turkish” ultra-nationalism; away from Iran. The Ottoman That notwithstanding, an you are no longer Iranian, you as to the newly established Empire, despite their repeated acquired language is not to be are Iranish. government in Baku and the futile warring efforts, could misconstrued as having altered If it is easier for you to Aliev’s clan, it is the lingering never take away any major the ethnicity and/or the national read and write in another lan- effect of ulterior motives of the territory of Iran in their four gene pool of people in a region, guage than in Persian, you Soviet (dis)Union era of divide hundred year reign, however. as that remains common among are no longer Iranian, you are to conquer, and the continued The common cultural heritage them all. Simply put, Iranians, Iranish. insinuating instigation of their has been produced and shared Turks, Arabs, Afgahnis, North If you know in your heart “brethren” in Turkey that has by all people in this vast re- Indians, Central Asians, the that you are not going back led to claiming the cultural and gion and should, therefore, be people of the Caucuses, Arme- to live in Iran, even if it had historical heritage of Iran and cherished forever by ALL. In nians, and those living around a secular democratic govern- calling these their own. much the same token that Eng- the Caspian Sea and Persian ment, you are not Iranian, you To an ordinary Iranian lish is currently the universal Gulf and many more are people are Iranish. with rudimentary linguistic language for arts and science, of the same common culture Cyrus Mowlavi Persian fluency, it is natural or Arabic or Greek were the and genetic pool.

16 No. 70 C O M M E N T A R Y

Mapping the Iranian Genome 2013 National Survey Source: The HAND Foundation of Iranian Americans National poll gathers accurate demographic and attitudinal information about the Iranian American community

April 18, 2013, Washington, D.C. - The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) today released the findings of its fifth national public opinion survey of Iranian Americans. The 2013 survey was conducted by George Mason University in February and follows similar annual surveys com- Since PARSA Com- missioned by PAAIA. The surveys are an integral component munity Foundation granted of better understanding the Iranian American community and $250,000 to Stanford Univer- having its voice heard through the availability of on-going sity’s Iranian Genome Proj- accurate scientific data. ect in 2010, the project has grown significantly. Survey Highlights According to the survey, Iranian Americans maintain close The Iranian Genome ties to family and friends in Iran. Thirty-two percent (32%) Project aims to provide report that they have at least one parent living in the country. knowledge to both the scien- Sixty-six percent (66%) of Iranian Americans surveyed stated tific and Iranian community that they communicate with their family and friends in Iran at by studying and understand- least several times a month. ing the genetic background of The research is being Iranian Americans want to see change in Iran. The survey Iranians representing all eth- done by the Department of indicates that from among a list of seven issues relating to U.S-Iran relations, the greatest number of Iranian Americans, nicities in Iran, including Ar- Bioengineering at Stanford fifty-six percent (56%), cited the promotion of human rights menians, Kurds, and Turks. University, lead by the Prin- and democracy as the most important, followed by thirty-one Based on the emerging field cipal Investigator Russ Alt- percent (31%) who chose promotion of regime change. of genomics, where scientists man, Chairman of Depart- Iranian Americans differ in their views as to what would map the genetic code, this ment and Director of Bio- be the best course of action for the U.S. to take towards Iran. project allows for research medical Informatics Training Forty-two percent (42%) believe either the promotion of re- on how variations in the ge- Program. The lead researcher gime change or the promotion of human rights and democracy would be in America’s best interest, while thirty-five percent netic code lead to differences is Roxana Daneshjou, a (35%) cite diplomatic negotiations or establishing diplomatic in health and disease across medical student at Stanford relations. Only three percent (3%) said that military action and within populations. University School of Medi- against Iran would be the best course of action. The Iranian Genome cine and a Ph.D. candidate When asked about potential U.S. strikes against Iran’s Project believes that further- in Genetics. nuclear facilities, a total of sixty-four percent (64%) of Iranian ing the knowledge of the The team also has two Americans said they were opposed to such strikes, while eleven Iranian genetic code will en- consultants who are leaders percent (11%) said they would support them and seventeen percent (17%) might support them in some circumstances. able the community to gain a in the field of genentics: Mo- Nine percent (9%) were not sure. better understanding of how stafa Ronaghi, Chief Tech- A solid majority of Iranian Americans-fifty-nine percent certain “Iranian” genes affect nology Officer and Senior (59%)-stated they approved of President Obama’s handling health in the population. Vice President at Illumina of Iran’s nuclear program, although they are divided about This may one day allow and a former principal inves- whether U.S. policy in this area will be successful. A large ma- for the creation of tailored tigator and senior research jority of sixty-eight percent (68%) would support the removal treatments and drugs. This is associate at the Stanford of sanctions on Iran if the Iranian regime reached an agreement with the U.S. and the international community concerning its important as most genetic re- Genome Technology Center; nuclear program. search has been conducted on and Pardisb Sabeti, Assistant Most Iranian Americans do not support opposition groups people of European descent. Professor at the Center for or figures in Iran. In the 2013 survey, only fifteen percent As the age of personalized Systems Biology at Harvard, (15%) said they did so. This should not be interpreted to mean medicine begins, knowledge Department of Organismic that the current Iranian regime has significant support among of genetic variation will be and Evolutionary Biology, the Iranian American population. In fact, in the 2011 PAAIA key in making sure that ev- and Senior Associate Mem- survey, sixty-seven percent (67%) of respondents stated that they wanted to see Iran become a democracy. Only two percent eryone’s unique needs are ber of the Broad Institute of (2%) said that Iran should continue to be an Islamic republic. met. Harvard.

Summer 2013 17 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E Reviews chariot pulled by four horses: Wind, Rain, Cloud and Sleet. Closely associated with The Persian Square the King’s investiture she is a Goddess of Shirley Jahad with Mike Roe Sovereignty, thought by some to be the www.scpr.org, March 24th, 2013 Persian Aphrodite, who also has some re- Los Angeles has the largest Iranian markable similarities to numerous other community in any city outside of Iran. ancient goddesses, including Ishtar, Venus, The vast majority arrived in a wave of im- Nana and Isis. Anahita: Ancient Persian migration just over 30 years ago after the Goddess and Zoroastrian Yazata is a col- fall of the Shah. A new digital book, “The lection of papers, art and poetry celebrating Persian Square,” traces over a century of this fascinating Goddess from more than Iranian-American experience. It was writ- 25 esteemed international academics, Zoroastrians, artists and ten by “Tell Me More” senior producer Iran writers. Each in turn share their research and insights leading Davar Ardalan. the reader on a journey of discovery - from the Achaemenid In the book, Ardalan found the first Royal Inscriptions featuring Anahita and Mithra, to the possible Iranian-American on record — Hajj Sayyah, a world traveler relationships between Anahita and the Dame du Lac of Arthurian who went to New York, then to San Francisco. Legend, representations of her in Sassanian art, William Morris “He was completely enamored by American way of life and Hunt through to Anahita as the pre-Christian Virgin Mother of thought, and learned about democratic values, and took some of Mithra, as well as her role in purification and purity. Studies of that back with him to Iran,” Ardalan said. the Sassanian rock reliefs, hot mineral springs, and her water Sayyah was later imprisoned for helping to support the ritual in Mahāyāna Buddhism, in addition to an examination of constitutional movement in Iran. He ended up taking refuge at the Sassanid stucco discovered in the Barz-e-qawela in Lorestan the American consul in Tehran as an American citizen. province of Iran and women in ancient Elam are all brought “Some of the stories are just fascinating how Iran and together illustrating the significance of Anahita throughout Per- America’s cultural ties and political ties go way back, centuries.” sian and Middle Eastern history. This book is the most extensive Before being known for its political turbulence, Iran was study of the figure of Anahita in recent years, and includes new known for its poetry. “Ralph Waldo Emerson, back in the 1800s, and never published before research. Anahita: Ancient Persian helped popularize Persian poetry.” Emerson wrote a book named Goddess and Zoroastrian Yazata is essential reading for all those after a famous Iranian poet, Omar Khayyam. “It was just remark- interested not just in this Goddess and her history, but also all able how Americans were enamored by Iranian culture, and those interested in Persian and Middle Eastern history. especially Iranian poetry, so there’s hundreds of verses and song that are inspired by [Iranian poets].” You can listen to one such song below, “Gems from In a Persian Garden,” performed in Camden, New Jersey on Feb. 19, Shamshone: 1915 by the Victor Opera Company. Sun Of Assyria The book’s name has a Los Angeles connection. In 2010, Five Generations of a Family from Iranian Azerbaijan the L.A. City Council named the corner of Wilshire and Wilkins Brian H. Appleton Boulevard “Persian Square,” named for the contributions that Iranian small business has made to L.A. The Nowruz Iranian new A moving story, beautifully told. Brian Appleton has painted for year festival takes place Sunday at the square, with thousands us an exquisite portrait of the disappearing multi-ethnic society of from around Southern California coming out to celebrate. the Middle East. He captures a reality that unfortunately threatens “Of course, the weather is beautiful, and Hollywood is here, to vanish under forces of intolerance and the drive for uniformity. and it was very attractive to Iranian-Americans who were leav- John W. Limbert ing and having to live in exile, to be able to be here in Southern California, where, to a certain extent, some of the climate is To order online go to: similar to parts of Iran.” Ardalan says she hopes to meet more Iranian-Americans zirzameen.com whose stories can be included in updated versions of the book. You can see pages from the book in the photo gallery above.

Anahita, Ancient Persian Goddess and Zoroastrian Yazata Edited by Payam Nabarz The Indo-Iranian Anahita is an ancient Persian Goddess, who became a Zoroastrian Yazata (or Angel) and is still part of contemporary Zoroastrianism. Described as a beautiful maiden, who is strong, tall and pure, she is depicted as wearing a man- tle embroidered with gold and as holding the baresma (sacred plant) in her hand. She is the Goddess of all the waters upon the earth, her full title being AredviSuraAnahita which means moist, mighty and immaculate (pure), and she travels on her

18 No. 70 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E Irandokht: Daughters of Iran How an accidental find prompted an art project to document a forgotten era before the Iranian revolution In the autumn of 2005, tographs, revealing no names (known as the concourse), ers who were born to rural Najaf Shokri was on his or personal information. The or voting. Though the docu- or small-town families but way to work when he made original meaning-making ments Shokri found were is- were married to men who an intriguing discovery in a process is reversed, turned sued in 1942, the images in came from the cities. The rubbish bin near his house on its head as it were. The Irandokht are largely drawn urban population was ex- in downtown Tehran. The ID portraits no longer refer from the period between the panding and life was chang- bin, outside a branch of the to specific individuals but late 1950s and the late 1970s, ing. It seems despite the fact National Civil Registrations to what we now call “meta- when most of the women that many of these families Organization, was filled with data”: the postures in front pictured added their photo- came from more traditional old national identification of the camera, the hairdos, graphs to their IDs. backgrounds they were in documents, all issued in 1942 the makeup, the outfits, and Between 1950 and 1978, the process of adapting to the and long expired. even the photographic style women’s roles in Iranian so- more westernized life of the “It was like discovering of the time. All this meta-data ciety transformed dramati- big cities.” A popular term a mass grave,” says Shokri. evokes the era between the cally. The middle class rap- from the early 1920s through “They could have gone away second world war and the idly expanded, and women the early 1940s, during the and faded into history with Iranian revolution, an era that from different backgrounds country’s preceding surge of no remaining trace.” He de- already seems very distant. found their way into schools modernization, Irandokht is cided to create an art project Before their replace- and the job market. Basic now out of fashion both as out of his find, a collection ment with more modern ID primary education, once the concept and name. But that’s of ID photographs that docu- cards, Iranian identification preserve of the economic in part exactly why Shokri ments a generation. Shokri documents consisted of four- elite, spread to much of the chose it for his project. called the project Irandokht – page birth certificates issued populace. Young women in “I wanted to transform “daughter of Iran” – after he without photographs. A Iran’s cities either removed expired private documents noticed so many women by holder was required to add a their hijab or never wore it into public heritage,” he says. that name among the docu- photograph to the document in the first place. Irandokhts, the daughters of ments. It used to be a com- before using it for various “One can see the his- Iran, remind us of a past - in mon first name in Iran. legal purposes such as mar- tory of the era in these fact not so distant - when the Shokri’s presentation riage, the national univer- faces,” Shokri says. “Many Middle East had a different focuses entirely on the pho- sity entrance examination of these women had moth- face. Tehran Bureau

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Summer 2013 19 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E The Art of Kevin Hosseini Debra Hosseini

Despite his young age of eighteen, Kevin Hosseini, diag- the Smithsonian Institute of Art. The sponsoring organizations nosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is an incredible VSA and VW of America flew Kevin and his mom to Washing- visual artist having created hundreds of pieces of art in his nine ton D.C. for a congressional reception. The painting is now on a years of painting. In 2009-2010, Kevin was inspired by a visit to travelling display visiting various galleries in the United States. Iran, to create a a series of paintings called “Impressions of Iran.” Kevin is unimpressed by the receptions and accolades he His rendition of the food, buses, landscapes and texture of receives. He prefers to listen on headphones to his favorite Iranian Iran propelled three pieces to a presitigious venue - the Museum singers - Googoosh or Moein. When asked what he would like of Modern Art of the Ukraine. These paintings then travelled to to do for a living, he replies, “Open an Iranian restaurant or be The Good Purpose Gallery in Lee, Massachusetts where they part of an Iranian band.” were quickly sold. In April 2013, Kevin traveled to San Antonio, Texas, where Like most people on the autism spectrum, Kevin has trouble he will be honored with an award from the Council on Exceptional with social and verbal communication. When people talk to him, Children (CEC) for his art. he sometimes is slow in responding. The filters that many of Kevin’s art was on display at a one-man exhibit at the Friends us are born with he doesn’t have. He compensates through his of the Library in Carpinteria, California in Spring 2013, the heightened visual and sensory skills. He notices many things that Faulkner Gallery in Santa Barbara, California, in May 2013, others may overlook. His sense of color, texture, and placement the Good Purpose Gallery in Lee, Massachusetts in April-May on canvas is highly advanced. 2013.■ In 2009, when Kevin was nine years of age, he was intro- duced to art by Colin, a therapist from the UCSB Koegel Autism Center in Santa Barbara. Art became Kevin’s preferred activity Peter Afrasiabi and before long Kevin became fluent in different styles and and John Tehranian techniques of painting. He enjoyed hearing about famous artists Named to Variety’s 2013 Legal and poured over the art books that Colin brought to his home. His Impact Report Featuring favorite era of art is Impressionism. He loves the thick colorful swirls of paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and the color and rich- Top 50 Eentertainment Lawyers ness of the paintings of Paul Gauguin. Kevin’s love of Iran translates well onto canvas. He paints Peter Afrasiabi and John Tehranian, were recognized in from photographs of his visits as well as from pictures in books Variety’s 2013 Legal Impact Report, which features the and magazines about Iran. Despite having travelled to many world’s top 50 entertainment lawyers. beautiful places in the United States, Kevin prefers his trips Variety’s 2013 Legal Impact Report profiles them, along to Iran to all others. He loves to visit with his relatives and his with other noted attorneys from O’Melveny & My- grandmother in his Dad’s hometown of Mashad. ers, Gibson Dunn &Crutcher, MungerTolles& Olson, In 2012, Kevin was honored to have one of his acrylic paint- Kirkland & Ellis, and Loeb & Loeb, in its list of the top ings “Bus or Cycle” on display at the S. Dillon Ripley Center of litigators in the business.

20 No. 70 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E more from something I enjoyed as early as I can remember, and that is reading and inquiring. I would learn from a number of sources, some of them I have retained and some have been replaced with new matters to learn.

What about high school?

In the year 1307 (the years I give you are according to the Persian calendar) I was a student at Cyrus High School in Tehran. There I had a teacher who was fluent in French and was well versed in that lan- guage. So, I picked up books in French, especially math books and journals, and drowned myself inside of them. They be- came a fundamental basis for my thoughts.

Tell us about your higher education and how it was that despite your love and interest in math and literature that you went to school to become a scientist - engineer?

During the Constitutional Revolution period in Iran, about 100 years ago, it was common for students to study Western languages and curriculums in school. Af- An interview with ter finishing high school you would aim to travel and continue your education in the West, mostly in France and then you Professor Fazlollah Reza would return and work for a governmental agency. This trend for education abroad Scientist and Electrical Engineer lasted for about for 10 years (back then all the heads of government were foreign Shahrokh Ahkami educated.) This however ended in 1933 when Reza Shah, the father of the last Thank you for granting this I was born in Rasht, located in the Shah, announced that they would no lon- interview to Persian Heritage northern part of Iran, by the Caspian Sea. ger be sending students to Europe for their magazine. I spent my childhood and adolescent years education. This was because he founded going to school in both Rasht and Tehran. Teheran University and wanted Iranian I thank you also, I was so pleased by Ever since I remember I had a love for two students to study in Iran. After that came your request. I am older now and do not disciplines in school, or perhaps two lan- WWII and education in Europe as well as have the strength to do what I did in my guages: One is the language of math and travel abruptly ended. younger days. Therefore this interview numbers (the language of thinking) and the In the year 1933 I was ready to is an opportunity to continue my dream. other Persian literature (the language of art enter Tehran University, my interest as This magazine is an enormous help in and Persian poetry). I thoroughly learned I mentioned earlier was to attend either educating the world and young Iranians the basics of these languages. When I look the Faculty of Science and Math or the on Persian history contributions, as well back I can say I spent my high school years Faculty of Literature. I was advised by as its culture; you took on an important loving and adoring two books. One was my family members that it was best to project. It is evident that because of your written by Euclid over two thousand years pursue a career in engineering and that I love for Iran, your courage and support ago, titled Euclidean Geometry (Euclid’s could self educate myself in literature and from your family and friends, that your Elements) and the other the Shahnameh, mathematics. This was how I became a project has succeeded. The Book of Kings, by Ferdowsi also student of engineering. written over a thousand years ago. All of I graduated from Tehran University Thank you for your compli- my thinking and writing have been em- in engineering in 1938 and then spent two ments. Please tell us about bellished by these books; I was impacted years in compulsory military service and your youth and your studies less by my formal schooling, university then taught four years at Teheran Univer- as an adolescent. lessons and lectures... My education came sity. When the doors to seek an education

Summer 2013 21 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E outside the country opened once again, I forums, Iran was simultaneously going enthusiastically by Iranians. At that time left for the United States through India in through series of dictatorships. This lim- the world was opened to us and we were the year 1944. I obtained my Masters and ited any social movement towards growth able to go to Europe and elsewhere and Doctorate in engineering from Columbia in all aspects of life. People were more learn and stand as an equal to the other University and the Polytechnic Institute geared to old titles, awards and acclama- outstanding research minds in the world. of New York University. tions than new creation. There were so many experts. Much of After the Constitutional Revolution, what we learned about the education and Please tell us about your those people who had studied in the West, curriculum offered to us, we brought back research and your literary were placed on a pedestal and highly re- to Iran and this laid the foundation for re- work? garded. This was actually detrimental for juvenating the educational system in Iran. Iran. As I mentioned earlier prior to WWII, It was my hope to bring together the best Allow me to reflect back for a few Iranians would go to Europe for higher of the two worlds. Throughout the world minutes. During the four years of my teach- education and training. With the war how- today Iranians are holding high rank posi- ing career at Tehran University I was able to ever, those doors were closed, and what tions in business, science, politics and eco- produce two memorable gifts, the writing then became gradually available, at the nomics. Their success should be credited of two books on mathematics and literature, end of the war was travel to the United to the emphasis placed on the educational respectively that are still used today. One is States. I was one of the few who were system they were offered. called “The Modern Book of Geometry” able to go to the States and it was said and the other, “Contemplations on the that I was the first Iranian to teach and do As Chancellor of Tehran Universe,” both written in classical Per- research at MIT. University what changes were sian style. In the first book on geometry I Of course there were obstacles, one accomplished and how did included a few outstanding mathematical being no one really knew about Iran. But you find the university? problems and ideas. This was new to math the hurdles were tackled. What followed books of that era. In the second book, for was a life time in search of knowledge, It is important to note that initially I the first time in the Persian language, a wisdom and education. Even to this day was asked to be the Chancellor of Sharif novel presentation which included ques- I find myself on this path, though I have University, a brand new institution. Actu- tions on astrophysics and relativity was slowed down due to old age; I still wish ally when I was invited to become Sharif’s introduced Later on, the scientific atmo- to accomplish a lot. One important issue Chancellor I was a professor at Syracuse sphere of the United States drove me to that became very clear to me in the early University, where at that moment I was immerse myself in research and teaching years of my sojourn in the US was that supervising several hundred GE and IBM for twenty years. While I have written and because of the freedoms allowed and the engineers working on their advanced de- published numerous scholarly articles and economic comfort this was the place to grees. At Sharif University, we tried to im- scientific books in English the above two dedicate oneself to academics. plement the same program strategies and are what I personally feel are my fondest At MIT, I was honored to become a curriculum of ideas that were used at the contribution to progressive thinking and member of an outstanding group of sci- best universities in the U.S. such as M.I.T. philosophy in Persian. entists at R.L.E. (Research Laboratory of We looked hard at the old programs that In 1961 I published in English the Electronics). I worked amongst scientists were practiced before the war and tried to first book in any language on “Informa- doing research that would place them at add new procedures. It was our success at tion Theory,” a forerunner in the sci- the highest ranks in many areas of physics Sharif that led me to Tehran University. I entific area of science, the basic math- and math, and other scientific areas. Some, was asked to implement the same program ematics of computer science and space like D. Gabar went on to receive the Nobel strategies and curriculum into this univer- technology. This book was used in Master prize, and others like Norbert Wiener were sity. We invited 100-150 young Iranian and Doctorate programs at universities at the highest echelons in mathematics. It educators from all over Europe and United worldwide and translated into many lan- was such a privilege to work alongside States to come back to Tehran. The new guages. Today, of course, changes and them at the R.L.E. laboratories and be academics replaced part of the old faculty new discoveries in the field of science included in this group. at the university. We started a two semester and technology are beyond what was ac- calendar at the university and introduced complished earlier. New publications of It is with pride and joy to idea and subject specific research pro- books and journals on new discoveries and know that you were the first grams. What was important to me was to findings are the norm in the field. Iranian to initiate and head have the students become creative, rather a western style scientific and than copiers, translators or note takers. What are your thoughts on technical university in Iran. With the help of all colleagues we started the scientific and socioeco- Can you tell me about that? the link between the best schools all over nomic situation before the the world and the universities in Iran. The Constitutional Revolution and Yes, I was one of the first to do this, intercultural and intellectual exchange of the new world? What changes but I was just a messenger who helped ideas began to fast forward between Iran do you see if any? uphold the intelligent minds and scien- and the rest of the world. tific enthusiasm that already existed in Our governments throughout the Two hundred years ago, while the Iran. I had the opportunity to help build years have been bogged down with prob- West was on its path to industrialization and change the educational system in the lems and setbacks. Years of dictator- and growth in both social and economic universities of Iran, which was received ships and the prevention of free speech

22 No. 70 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E and free press hindered our capabilities. Iran continues to thrive today. And so, af- The authorities seemed to be less aware ter 400 years of being left out of the scien- of what was going on in the government tific loop, Iran is making its way forward and leadership. Sadly, it often seemed that and today research, not copying, is at the there was loss of perspective of what was forefront. This is also taking place in all happening within Iran. This environment the sciences and medicine. I am honored to made me realize that perhaps the circum- still be recognized for implementing this stances for change were not ideal at that endeavor in Iranian education. time. Initially they offered me an ambas- sadorship to UNESCO or the Presidency Let us change the subject and of the Iranian Academy of Sciences and speak of poetry and litera- Arts. I opted to go to UNESCO in Paris ture. You are well versed on where in addition I was offered a teaching this and have written many and research opportunity at the University articles and books on the sub- of Paris. After five years I was offered an ject. Tell us about this. ambassadorship to Canada. I accepted this and continued to teach and do research at The beautiful poetry of Iran, (Persia) is McGill University and Concordia Univer- penetrating and has an awakening melody. Future success of any individual de- sity. I kept this position for many years. It talks about, love, beauty, hope, creativity pends on their expertise in a subject and and all imaginable beauty of the universe. how they manage it. It was the discipline I want to go back for a mo- It can be far surpass any formal books in in the West that allowed them to become ment when you were discuss- any place in the world. I analyze this in my successful. We must aim for a balance ing the connection between books: Hadith Arezoomandi, and Ferdowsi, between freedom and respect for our laws Iran and the Western univer- King of Epics. In most of my writing I re- which are the foundation of civilization. sities. fer back to Hafez, Rumi- Molana, Sa’adi, This could eventually eradicate greed and Omar Khayam and Ferdowsi. poverty. Some sublime poets like Ferdow- Yes. Our lack of scientific informa- si and Molaana (Rumi), or Hafez have tion from the West goes back as far or Can you explain the rela- beautiful poems which are endowed with maybe even before Galileo and lasted 400 tionship between literature, great wisdom, and adorned with exquisite years. During their lifetimes our three fa- poetry, math and science? artistic symbols. In any interpretation, of mous scientists Sheikh Bahaie, Molla Sa- such poetry, we must try to avoid lack of dra and Mir Fendereski were not aware of This is a question that requires a very precision, exaggeration, idol worshipping, Galileo’s premises and research findings. lengthy answer. But I will try to provide a selfishness, etc. Of course, neither was Galileo aware of brief answer or summary. Forty years ago We should not replace old Eastern them! During the Constitutional Revo- I wrote many articles and books on this icons with new Western icons. lution which encompassed a movement subject. I would refer any readers who are towards freedom of press we were far from interested to a list of my Persian contribu- And do you have any words the level of Western creative research. tions. In summary pure science tends to for Iranians in general? However, we excelled in literature. Books have a mechanical structure. A thinker used in mathematics and sciences were not combines his thoughts with the element Yes, it is based on what I respectfully original but rather copies of Western text- of understanding mathematics, which is stated above. This is for the young and books. The West was still the creator. Even the key to comprehension. old. Again we must learn always not to for thirty years after Tehran University’s Science and math contain the essence be caught up with the pomp and circum- inception (founded in the European style) of thought, but any common literature stance that surround our achievements. the emphasis was still not on scientific without thought tends to be meaningless. Many statues were built in the east af- research. In the West, after completing If you are flying through the air and look ter the success of individuals and many their education most graduates in medi- down you will see fields with both flowers of those statues have been beaten to the cine, science etc. would continue to write and weeds. But because of the height you ground. So be humble and be willing to or do research in their field. This did not are at, you cannot differentiate between give back to your society. Do not dwell on happen in Iran. Once the formal education the two. They become mixed together. economic gain and title. But should you was complete, be it foreign or domestic, no Ordinary, elementary poetry is like this, become wealthy use that money wisely to additional papers or research happened or a mixture of culture, art, and random contribute to society like Bill Gates, to try it was infrequently. Their thesis for gradu- thought. The poetry of our great poets is to make the world a better place. ation was often their last writing. eternal, as it is void of weeds. And finally always remember the When invited to Tehran University I You mentioned the friend we have in foundation of your heritage, Persian lan- tried to take the Persian misleading word common, the late Professor Hashtroudi. guage, culture and literature is in the heart for “graduation” (faregh-al-tahsil) out of Indeed, he was a mathematician also very of all of us and was the foundation of our their academic vocabulary. I tried to em- versed in literature. history. phasize that their research and education Thank you for this interview and must continue lifelong. I am happy to say Do you have any words of allowing me to contribute something to that this seed that I planted for research in wisdom for our youth? Persian Heritage.

Summer 2013 23 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E Could the Almaty talks who detest any proposition of their time away from their tially alienate Iranian lead- have been the turning point of non-aggressive measures perpetual Iran-bashing, they ership from talks for good, the international community pertaining to Iran. Much to would come to the conclu- forcing their hand to acquire has so long been yearning the dismay of rational think- sion that sanctions did not a nuclear warhead. for? ing high-level officials, im- deter Cuba, North Korea, As a second-term presi- “Useful” and “realistic” mediately following the Pakistan, India and pre-US dent, Mr. Obama finds him- are two words not generally groundbreaking talks in invasion Iraq from pursuing self comfortably situated in a used when characterizing Amlaty, Ed Royce (R-CA), their domestically developed very favorable circumstance Iranian nuclear negotia- Chairman of the House For- agendas. permitting him to tackle tions, yet that’s exactly how eign Affairs Committee, and Punctuating sanctions’ head-on what many regard American and Iranian offi- his equally hawkish House ineffectiveness, the Supreme as the United States’ most cials labeled the Almaty talks colleague, Eliot Engel (D- Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali pressing foreign policy is- that concluded on February NY), introduced yet another Khamenei, and many of his sue. Immune to the election 27th. Walking away from hard-line bill against Iran, fellow influential policymak- cycle’s constant scrutiny, Kazakhstan, there appears to adding to their ever-growing ers have publicly rebuked re- President Obama must in- be a blooming, yet remote, anti-Iran legislative history. newed American economic vest a large portion of his possibility that Iran and the political capital in an effort world powers have struck to resolve the Iranian nuclear a common cord with an The Promise of Almaty issue once and for all, giv- agreement on new rounds of Omid Irani ing future administrations an auspicious talks in the com- opportunity to allocate their ing months. International time, capital, and personnel statesmen directly involved to more pressing and tangible with the negotiations have threats such as the rise of Al- privately expressed a mea- Qaeda in the Arabian Penin- sured sense of hopefulness sula and the Islamic Maghreb that the most recent round of as well as newly emerging talks might possibly lead to dangers stemming from the the elusive concessions both deteriorating Syrian conflict parties have long been wait- which all threaten to disrupt ing for since the escalation the stability of the region, not of this diplomatic row. Such to mention the 65 year-old a small-scale agreement plight of Palestinians who among the two parties is a continue a life in constant well-deserved sight for sore limbo and uncertainty. eyes. In Tehran, officials need With renewed talks to come to terms with realiz- scheduled for March and ing that the current American April, the P5+1 and Iran administration is the single seem to be heading toward most friendly president and an unprecedented and pub- The proposed bill would restrictions referring to them cabinet to reside at 1600 licized diplomatic route seek to strengthen existing as “a gun to [their] heads.” Pennsylvania Avenue since which is the only legitimate sanctions against the Iranian Despite such staunch resent- the overthrow of the Shah. way to handle an issue of government, with measures ment toward these measures, Shortly after winning his his- this magnitude. Yet, as this that, if passed, would essen- Iran was still, surprisingly, toric presidential bid in 2008, precious flame of diplomatic tially position Iran face-to- willing to cooperate with President Barak Hussein opportunity weakly flickers face with a comprehensive the P5+1’s demands and Obama went so far as to offer in its infancy, the immediate commercial and financial protract the Almaty talks for a new direction in American- threat of its extinguishment embargo. Sadly, these two more meetings anticipating Iranian relations announcing is ever-present as a result of legislators and all those who an appropriate resolution. the United States seeks en- the violent winds fanned by so strongly advocate for Ira- Talks of intensifying punitive gagement with Iran that is pro-Israeli lobbyists, led by nian sanctions are either ig- measures against Iran at such “honest and grounded in mu- the American Israel Public norant of history or simply a fragile junction threatens to tual respect.” Such language Affairs Committee (AIPAC) refuse to learn from it. If such unravel the very foundation is a sharp departure from the and the Foundation for De- esteemed individuals reap- established during the two- pugnacious language of the fense of Democracy (FDD), portioned a remote amount day talks and could poten- Bush administration which

24 No. 70 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E infamously branded Iran as relaxing the tension between animosity and hostility, both whereby it can save face by part of the “axis of evil.” these two feuding nations, a overt as well as covert, be- preserving its entitlement to President Obama, course then Senator Hagel comes a long-term staple in harness nuclear energy, while flanked by Secretary of State strongly urged President dealings with one another. simultaneously, alleviating a John Kerry and Defense Sec- Bush to pursue in 2007 to For too long, the route of bulk of its privations. With retary Chuck Hagel, offers no avail. President Obama’s coercion and intimidation ostensible domestic strife Iran the greatest possibility recruitment of a man with an has been used relative to among the political hierar- for a peaceful resolution to extensive track record of lu- Iran yielding no desirable chy tarnishing the Iranian im- this often hostile predica- cidity and rationality towards outcome, conversely, at this age at home and abroad Mr. ment. Despite ratcheting up Iran speaks volumes about time a more mature and es- Khamenei must judiciously sanctions which have deci- his intentions in the coming tablished approach is slowly weigh his options to attain mated Iranian exports, the ri- years. Iran ought to read the taking shape in the form of a resolution to this decades- al’s value, and the attainabil- tea leaves and truly embark talks which are delightfully old standoff, which re-invites ity of medical resources, this on a committed path of ne- void of previous absolutist Iran into the community of administration has, on nu- gotiations with the United demands and rejectionist ide- nations. merous occasions, attempt- States, provided the latter ologies. Payvand News, 03/14/13 ed to engage the Iranians also acts in good faith, as the After countless squan- through diplomatic channels current atmosphere seems to dered negotiations, emerg- Omid Irani is a student at in the face of public and pri- provide everyone with the ing optimism of bilateral Seton Hall University pur- vate pressure not to do so. In most optimal window for a concessions may seem to suing a major in Political what can best be described as resolution. be a discernible reality, al- Science and a minor in His- an unimaginable offer during The P5+1 and Iran must beit slowly. At a time when tory. He has written several the Bush era, Vice President responsibly seize this rare international sanctions are articles analyzing Iran’s Biden recently proposed the opportunity and wisely es- visibly crippling the Iranian nuclear issue with respect to idea of unconditional unilat- tablish a precedent for which economy, leadership may U.S. and international sanc- eral talks to Iran in hopes of consensual reductions in be hospitable to a scenario tions thereon.

28Years of Telling the Truth

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Summer 2013 25 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E Warsaw (PMN)—Isfahan is best 37,000 civilian adults, and 18,000 children. known for its architecture. It is so beauti- An Iranian City Just after they crossed, the Soviet govern- ful, Iranians say, that to visit the city is ment closed the border again, preventing to see “half the world.” And, Isfahan is Is Known As: any more of the some 1 million Polish citi- famous for its carpets in classical Per- zens still in the USSR from leaving. sian court styles. But, in Poland, the city For those Poles who reached Iran, is known for still something else. It is The City of after thousands died along the way, the “Isfahan – the City of Polish Children” emotions were overwhelming. Ironically, [“Isfahan – MiastoDzieciPolskich”] the Poles had reached a country that it- In June 2008, the Polish postal ser- Polish Children self had been occupied in late 1941 by vice issued a stamp that explained why. Russia and Britain. They allies did so to The stamp shows a small boy dressed POLONIA TODAYONLINE secure the oil fields and keep Iran open as in a cadet’s uniform. Draped behind him a supply route to the Soviet army. Reza is an Isfahan carpet emblazoned with the Shah Pahlavi, who had earlier brought Polish eagle. And next to him is the city’s Iran closer to Germany, was in exile in nickname in Polish: “Isfahan - Miast- South Africa and his son was on the throne oDzieciPolskich.” in his place. The stamp commemorates two However, if Iranians resented the things: a huge tragedy in Poland’s history, Russian and the British presence, they and how Iran helped rescue some of the were sympathetic to the Polish refugees victims. But to understand the whole story, and welcomed them. Mohammad Reza which today is largely forgotten outside Shah Pahlavi opened his private pool Poland, one must go back to the very start to the orphans. Polish soldiers saluted of World War II. Persian officers when they passed in the In 1939, Germany and the Soviet street. And, over time, all the orphans were Union attacked Poland and divided it be- relocated to Isfahan along with many Pol- tween them. Both the Nazis and Soviets ish families because the beauty of the city sent huge numbers of Poland’s elite to was thought to be conducive to their physi- prisons and labor camps. But, the Soviets cal and mental health. went a step further. They deported some of thousands of deported Polish families After the Polish Army left for the 1.5 million Polish citizens to distant points headed in hopes of rejoining the soldiers. Middle East, the families and children in Siberia and Central Asia. But for the families to succeed, they stayed on. From 1942 to 1945, there were The deportations of military fami- first had to escape the farms they had been 2,590 Polish children in Isfahan below lies, police, doctors, teachers, and anyone assigned to (and many local bosses refused the age of seven, living in what became a else suspected of patriotic feelings were to release them), have money to buy train lively community, which was very inter- intended to simplify the Polish territory’s tickets, and travel for months from Siberia ested in Iranian culture. incorporation into the Soviet Union. It to the south under appalling conditions. During this time, Polish academi- also provided more laborers for the Soviet Parents unable to go farther gave their cians in Isfahan began an Institute of Ira- Union’s collective farms as Moscow pre- children to others who could. And as the nian Studies. And the carpet in the back- pared for an inevitable war with Germany. journey went on, the number of orphans ground of the commemorative postage Then, after forcibly settling all these multiplied, to the point that the Polish stamp was woven by Polish girls in the families and, in the meantime, execut- army reception centers had to set up spe- Isfahan school of weaving. ing some 20,000 Polish officers held in cial orphanages to accommodate them all. At the end of the war, the refugees prison camps, the Soviet leaders suddenly The Polish army, known as Anders went on to Britain or to British colonies, changed their strategy. As the war began Army for its commander General W. An- or to the United States and Australia. But, with Germany in the summer of 1941, ders, crossed into Iran by ship across the due to a final twist of fate, none returned they decided to raise an army instead from Caspian or by road from Turkmenistan at to Poland. That was because the Allied among the thousands of still interned Pol- the end of 1942. The exodus numbered leaders had agreed at a meeting in Tehran ish soldiers. And to improve the mood, 115,000, composed of 45,000 soldiers, in 1943 to put Poland in the Soviet Union’s they granted an “amnesty” to all Polish orbit. It remained there until 1989. deportees. The Polish postage stamp issued in The result was one of the epic jour- 2008 recalls all this history. One of the neys of World War II. The new Polish orphans, PrzemekStojakowski, is the boy army, under an agreement between Mos- on the postage stamp. On the First Day cow and the exiled Polish government Cover that accompanies the stamp, the in London, was to be sent to the North names of just a few of the hundreds of African front to fight alongside the Brit- other orphaned children are also printed. ish. So the Army assembled just north of The stamp helps to explain several the border with Iran, on the road to the other things, too, including why Dariusz Middle East. And it was there, at bases in remains a popular name today for Polish Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan that tens Polish cemetery in Anzali, Gilan boys.■

26 No. 70 Ancient Iran: Cosmology, Mythology, History By: Dr. Iraj Bashiri

Cognella Publishers, Inc. ISBN: 978-160927521-1, Pa perback, 186 p ages © 2012

Ancient Iran: Cosmology, Mythology, History presents Iran’s pre-Islamic history within the context of both its complex cosmology and rich mythology. The book uses the concept of farr to show how authority, finding guidance in the cosmic realm, organized the lives of Iran’s hero-saints in the mythic realm. It also discusses how historical monarchs organized their hierarchical societies according to the dictates of Ahura Mazda.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part examines cosmology, concentrating on Ahura Mazda and the Ahuric order that emanates from him. The next section addresses mythology and describes how the rulership of hero-saints promoted the farr, culminating in the unique creed of Zoroaster. The final section tells the history of pre-Islamic Iran. It begins with a study of life on the plateau, moves on to the stages of empire and concludes with the rule of the Parthians and Sassanids.

Additionally, through a new interpretation of Firdowsi’s Shahname, the volume shows how the prophet Zoroaster reorganized Mazdian cosmology to fit the ethical, philosophical, and sociological dynamics of Achaemenid and Sassanid Iran.

www.cognella.com 800.200.3908

Iraj Bashiri received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He is a Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, where he teaches Ancient Iran among other courses. His published works include: The Ishraqi Philosophy of Jalal al-Din Rumi The Fiction of Sadeq Hedayat Prominent Tajik Figures of the Twentieth Century Samanids and the Revival of the Civilization of Iranian Peoples. T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E A MONOLOGUE As The ALEXANDER TAMRAZ I am not afraid of passing away, I am only ashamed of Sho ad ws those who are stil alive. I have no time to read books, but I like to buy them and make love with them. Fall I wish to have been created as a statue, and you too, in order to live together in peace. A Novel By: Mort Shahmir Life is as a duel, hence the victory is so hard that even Pushkin and Lermontov were defeated. History is made of dead people like Plato, Victor Hugo, وقتی Jean Jacques Rousseau and Einstein, and thousands of others like them, not by live elites. I prefer to give not to receive. Day and night the earth circles around the sun but never که .says: thank you The theater is pulse of life beating on a stage. When somebody talks too much he speaks foolish and if one writes too much he writes fiddle-faddle. سایهها Freedom is an imagination that folks are looking for it in today’s society. میافتند The best book is one that when you read it you never forget, but worst is the one, you forget after you read it once, twice, even for the third time. I am unhappy for bad things I have done, and unhappy نوشته: .for good things I have not done Existence is not to exist because if it was we couldn’t say مرت شاهمیر .nonexistence exists If I would die, I would never wish to be born. Nowadays there is competition between oldies. If some- body dies later he is winner. Please visit: mortshahmir.com The most cruel thing in the world is a clock. It advances without mercy. for a review of the synopsis and the excerpt of the book To grow into habit is the worst habit. and download instructions to Kindle, Nook, or iBook. There is only one thing that humankind wishes, dyeing without wishing it. The print version will be available soon. When you want the time to pass fast it goes slow, and if As The Shadows Fall is the love story of slow it goes fast. I wish to live up to fifty, and after that not die. a young man and a young woman of The best book is the one not to want to be finished, but Persian heritage in the US, the friendship of bad one that ends soon. their families, and a brief account of Persian People, when I or you die become happy, because they history (past and present), customs, are still alive. literature, and arts. As the story unravels the Listening is much better than talking. My wife has two characters, if you do something bad reader will learn about the characters’ secrets, she never forgets, but if you do your best she will forget past traumatic lives, and their undiminished at once. yearning for the beautiful country and My wife never agree with me, even if I agree with her. the rich culture that they have left behind.

CORRECTION Contact: Please note the article “Making Ghelye Mahi” lo- [email protected] cated on page 28 of the Spring Edition was written by Tori Egherman. 270 791 9985

28 No. 70 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E

Abu Ali Sina (Avecenna) My Journey in Life Abu Ali al-Hussain- IbnAbdallahIbnSina was a Bahar Bastani Persian physician and phi- losopher. He was born in Oh, Saghi, who distribute the eternal wine, 980 A.D. at Afshana near Bring me a cup of your pure and clear wine. Bukhara then capital of the Samanid Dynasty. He Free from the world and its earthly attachment, is a Persian polymath, who I can now fly high with eagles in a magical enchantment. wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, In this world, I had many moments of happiness and sadness, of which around 240 have Wondered in its bewilderments, confusions, and madness. survived. In particular, 150 of his surviving treatises As a child, I was preoccupied with my playful games, concentrate on philosophy Life was filled with joy and happiness, dreams and 40 of them concentrate and wonderful games. on medicine. His most famous When I reached the thirties and forties of my age, works are The Book of I got consumed with work and wealth, like others in that age. Healing, a vast philosophi- cal and scientific encyclo- Working hard, taking advantage of the energy pedia, and The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard of my youthful age, medical text at many medieval universities. The Canon of Like a nightingale wandering between flowerbeds, Medicine was used as a text-book in the universities of Mont- searching for a golden cage. pellier and Leuven as late as 1650. IbnSīnā’s Canon of Medi- cine provides a complete system of medicine according to the Now married, with a beautiful wife and children, principles of Galen (and Hippocrates). more wealth and fame, His corpus also includes writing on philosophy, astron- I was drowned in daily life, not seeing its wonderful game. omy, alchemy, geology, psychology, Islamic theology, logic, mathematics, physics, as well as poetry. He is regarded as When I passed through my sixties and seventies, the most famous and influential polymath of the Islamic and as life went on, Golden Age. I noticed declining energy and health, IbnSina also contributed to mathematics, physics, music and that my youth was gone. and other fields. He explained the “casting out of nines” and its application to the verification of squares and cubes. He made However, with age I had acquired a new depth in my vision, several astronomical observations, and devised a contrivance And could see through the mist what as a young similar to the venire, to increase the precision of instrumental I couldn’t see in a clear vision. readings. In physics, his contribution comprised the study of different forms of energy, heat, light and mechanical, and such I had acquired an inner eye, concepts as force, vacuum and infinity. He made the important and a depth of vision at my old age, observation that if the perception of light is due to the emission That I could see on a muddy wall, of some sort of particles by the luminous source, the speed what I couldn’t see in a mirror at a younger age. of light must be finite. He propounded an interconnection between time and motion, and also made investigations on It became clear that the waves and upheavals in our lives, specific gravity and used an air thermometer. Are like dreams, filled with sorrows, laughter, joys and cries. In the field of music, his contribution was an improve- ment over Farabi’s work and was far ahead of knowledge That one cannot take his wealth, fame, or his worldly state, prevailing else- where on the subject. Doubling with the fourth When it is the time to leave this earthly state. and fifth was a ‘great’ step towards the harmonic system and doubling with the third seems to have also been allowed. Ibn- That one will live on with what he has made of himself, Sina observed that in the series of consonances represented by Through his good thoughts and deeds, (n + 1)/n, the ear is unable to distinguish them when n = 45. and caring beyond himself. In the field of chemistry, he did not believe in the possibility of chemical transmutation because, in his opinion, the metals Oh, my brother, be mindful of the great value of your life, differed in a fundamental sense. These views were radically As no gold or treasures can return you to your past life. opposed to those prevailing at the time. His treatise on miner- als was one of the “main” sources of geology of the Christian Live a life so enriched with kindness, love, care and grace, encyclopedists of the thirteenth century. Besides Shifa his That when leaving it, all would cry, well-known treatises in philosophy are al-Najat and Isharat.■ while you have a smile on your face.

Summer 2013 29 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E soughod-Dowleh, and Ali Amini, and he was also more distantly related to Mossadeghos-Saltaneh. When Mohammad Ali Khan Ala’ os-Saltanehwas appointed Iranian Minister at the Court of Saint James in England, Hossein was sent to pursue his second- ary education at Westminster School in London. He then studied law at London University and qualified as a Barrister at the Inner Temple in 1906. Hossein perfectly mastered both the English and French languages, and could read Latin and Greek; he was an accomplished pianist, and a gifted cartoonist, who often ir- reverently sketched dignitaries who visited his father. He went on to become his father’s ‘Chef de Cabinet’when Ala’os-Saltaneh was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, and he virtually ran the Ministry whilehis father, Mohammad Ali Khan was Prime Minister in 1917. Hossein Ala served his country for some sixty years as a Member of Parliament; diplomat; Iranian envoy to the League of Nations and later to the UNO Security Council (at the time of the 1945-46 Azarbaijan crisis); Cabinet Minister, twice Prime Minister and Minister of Court. He married Fatemeh Gharagozlou in 1927. It was while my father was Iranian Minister Plenipotentiary in Paris that my sister Iran, and I were born. We grew up in a household, whether in France, England or Iran, where Persian, English and French were quite interchangeably spoken, in an atmosphere of perfect emotional security. Upon our return to An Interview with Tehran in 1936, through Soviet Russia at the height of the second ‘Terror’ of Yezof, to Baku and Bandar Pahlavi (now Enzeli), we Dr.Fereydoun Ala were met by my father, who was clearly proud and excited in equal measure about the radical reforms Reza Shah was undertak- ing to establish a modern secular state, after the rotten, impotent Worldwide Famous Hematologist, Qajar dynasty foundered in chaos. and honorary President of the Iranian Haemophilia Comprehensive Care Centre in Tehran Please continue with your education.

Shahrokh Ahkami Towards the end of World War II In 1944, I was ruthlessly sent off to England as a boarder at Harrow School near London, Thank you for this interview. Let us start with a where German V2 rockets still fell at random, sowing terror. Hos- discussion about your childhood, your environment sein Ala was appointed Iranian Ambassador in Washington, and and your late father. Delegate to the new-found UNO Security Council in 1945,where he successfully prosecuted Iran’s complaint against the Soviet My maternal family – the Gharagozlou (a spur of the Gharag- Union, which was gravely threatening the independence and hoyunlou according to Professor Minorsky), was a part of the territorial integrity of Iran, despite Soviet machinations and the Central Asian Oghuz from Turkistan, who were settled in Hama- initial indifference of the US and Britain. dan by Amir TeymourGurkani (commonly known in the West as I joined my parents in the USA in 1946. My secondary edu- Tamerlane), because they were warlike, and helped him in his cation continued at Milton Academy, near Boston, and I went on empire-building enterprises. My grandfather Abolghassem Khan, to Harvard University as an under-graduate in 1948. was raised by his grandfather Mahmoud Khan Nasser ol-Molk Farmanfarma, a great favourite of Nasser ed-Din Shah, because You did not follow in your father’s footsteps as a his own father died young. Mahmoud Khan noted his grandson’s profession please tell us why? love of learning and arranged for him to further his studies at Balliol College, Oxford University. Indeed, he was one of the first You are correct. I was studying history, it was my major. Moslems and the first Iranian to attend this prestigious college, But, I had learned the virtues of service to ones country without which was at the height of its fame at the time. After returning expectation of reward, from my father, and despite my family’s to Iran, he was briefly Prime Minister, and was later appointed opposition, I decided upon a medical career late in my course. I Regent, while Ahmad Shah Qajarwas still a minor. My mother, had applied to Cornell Medical School, but this coincided with Fatemeh was the eldest of three siblings, and she ran her father’s the extreme economic hardship of Dr. Mossadegh’s premiership, household with an iron hand. which followed the nationalisation of Iran’s oil industry, and the My father Hossein, was born in Tibilisiin 1882, where his consequent dearth of dollar exchange put this option out of my father Prince Mohammad Ali Khan Ala’os-Saltaneh was Iranian reach financially. Instead, I went to Edinburgh University Medical Consul General. He was related, through his mother Azematod- School (famed for the body-snatchers Burke and Hare), which DowlehSinaki, to his first cousins Ghavamos-Saltaneh, Vos- was then considered the best medical faculty in Europe. Here,

30 No. 70 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E tuition fees were an astonishing £300 Pounds Sterling per year! Yes, with the support of the Shah and under the High Pa- After qualifying MB ChB in 1960, and completing my junior tronage of Shahbanu Farah, a decree was passed through Par- posts at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, I obtained a trainee liament, establishing the Iranian National Blood Transfusion research grant from the Sir Henry Wellcome Trust, and became Service(INBTS) as a legal entity. A Board of Trustees was ap- involved in studying the haematological sequelae of intestinal pointed, and with an initial annual budget of 800,000 Tomans, the malabsorption in Edinburgh. After passing the Membership of former Tehran Clinic on Avenue Villa (now Ostad Nejatollahi) the Royal College of Physicians examination (in internal medi- was rented from the public-spirited Mrs. Firouzgar, and radically cine and haematology) – the first Iranian to do so, I continued altered to create an attractive, clean, modern centre with the best my post-graduate studies at the Haematology Department of the automated equipment we could afford, which formed a profound Royal Post-Graduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, in contrast to the tawdry, filthy blood centres so well illustrated in London, under the aegis of the famed Professor Sir John Dacie. the brilliant DarioushMehrjou’i film, ‘Dayereye Mina’. The most important equipment of course, was the staff, When did you return to Iran? who had to be selected and trained to the highest standards for their specialised tasks, either in Iran or abroad. Yet our most I returned to Iran in 1965, and joined the medical faculty challenging task was to inform, motivate and recruit voluntary at Tehran University Pahlavi Hospital (now Emam Khomeini blood donors from the urban population. To mobilise a cynical, Medical Centre), with the princely salary of 600 Tomans a month! suspicious public; to gain their trust and confidence, and persuade Here, I was instrumental in establishing the first Department of them that to give blood on a regular basis is entirely safe, was Clinical Haematology in Iran, with its own associated laborato- formidably difficult.‘Why does not the government import blood ries, thanks to a further personal grant from the Wellcome Trust, in compote tins, like the United Arab Emirates – after all, we are which enabled me to purchase all the equipment needed to create a rich country?’ ‘ Let the poor give blood – we do not really need a modern department. Among many other areas of interest, I the money.’ ‘I am too weak to give blood...’ Very quickly however, became interested in blood coagulation and inherited defects of these fears and suspicions were overcome; people realised that if haemostasis such as Haemophilia – orphan disorders which had they wanted safe blood for their family and themselves, merely almost no local advocates at the time. spending government money or promulgating official decrees It was exciting to make definitive laboratory diagnoses would accomplish nothing. They had to roll up their sleeves and of Haemophilia A or B (the form Queen Victoria passed on to give blood for their community. This was the social dimension most of the royal families of Europe, including the little Tsar- of transfusion science and medicine, which represented a veri- evich Alexei), von Willebrand’s Disease, or other less common table revolution in public thinking and attitudes, and served as a bleeding disorders, for the first time in Iran. However, providing surrogate for a burgeoning democratic movement, with citizens treatment for these unfortunate children crippled by repeated voluntarily undertaking their civic duties and responsibilities bleeding into their joints,was another matter. The only blood or towards society without coercion or remuneration – an unprec- plasma available anywhere in Iran, whether in public, teaching, edented attitude indeed among urban Iranians, who are ever loath military or private hospitals, was obtained from wretched blood to trust each other, and particularly their government. Our slogan sellers, drawn from the dregs of urban society, and suffering from at the time was: “From the people, to the people”. anaemia, covert hepatitis or drug-addiction, who were herded We started at the very top, conducting mobile donor ses- by shady ‘agents’. Quite apart from the ethical implications of sions in Ministries, Universities, religious establishments, the Boy buying and selling living human cells as a commodity, this blood Scouts, factories....everywhere. Very soon after the creation of also constituted a grave health hazard to society. Despite these the INBTS, Tehran became self-sufficient in blood from volun- problems, we initially had little choice but to use plasma from teers, and the blood-selling ‘agents’ were bankrupted. However, these professional donors to manufacture a home-made Factor being pragmatic businessmen, they took up fish or mink farming VIII concentrate, just discovered by Dr. Judith Poole in the US, instead. called ‘Cryoprecipitate’. By stock-piling this material, we were The INBTS initiated Histocompatibility Testing to underpin able to allow severe haemophiliacs to undergo major orthopaedic, the first kidney transplants in Iran; it established a frozen blood gastro-intestinal or pulmonary surgery in safety, and without section to store rare blood for transfusion; it created the first abnormal bleeding – a most unusual outcome anywhere in the Clinical Immunology Department in the country; it was the first world at that time. to start testing for Viral Hepatitis in Iran; it introduced multiple Indeed, it was the plight of my beloved Haemophiliacs, as PVC blood bags instead of glass bottles, to allow for separation well as the scandalous inadequacies of the blood services,which of the cellular components of blood and ‘Component Therapy’, served as a spur for the creation of a centralised, national blood in a sterile, closed system. Fractionation of plasma into Albumin, transfusion service, based entirely upon purely altruistic, volun- Immune Globulin (including the unique specific anti-Rabies tary, non-remunerated blood donations from safe urban blood Immune Globulin), Anti-Haemophilic Globulin, was initiated donors, and taking blood transfusion out of the hands of com- as a ‘pilot’ project; the potent anti-viral agent, Leucocytic Inter- merce, into the realm of medicine and science, altruism and feron derived from white cells separated from whole blood, was high ethical standards. Above all, a rapidly escalating urban manufactured as another pilot project, to treat corneal dendritic population, the increasing sophistication of medicine and surgery, ulcers – a major cause of blindness in Iran. frequent road traffic accidents, and the growing expectations of Perhaps the most unique and significant achievement of the public, called for a better, less fragmented, safer and more the fledgling INBTS, was to obtain the support of the highest scientific blood service. authority for merging the Armed Forces Blood Service with our Service in the civil sector. It was argued that the service pro- Is this the reason the blood bank was established? vided by the Armed Forces was mediocre and inadequate; that

Summer 2013 31 T H E A R T S & C U L T U R E with the World Health Organisation as a short-term consultant in transfusion medicine and science, mostly in the Eastern Mediter- ranean Region and Central Asian Republics. It was not until 1999, that I returned to Iran after an absence of over nineteen years, to conduct a WHO EMRO Seminar in Blood Transfusion. I was kindly received, and have regularly returned to spend nearlyhalf the year in Iran since. I currently work as the Honorary President of the Iranian Comprehensive Haemophilia Care Centre (ICHCC) in Tehran, a non-governmental, non-profit clinic which was established a little over ten years ago by the Iranian Haemophilia Society, a registered charity affiliated to the World Federation of Hae- mophilia. Over these past ten years, the ICHCC has developed into a world-class centre for the diagnosis and treatment of inherited bleeding and thrombotic disorders, which not only sees and treats some 100 patients a day, it also publishes useful research papers in the international scientific literature.As the name implies, this centre provides out-patient diagnosis and care; genetic counselling; dental treatment; physiotherapy; orthopaedic consultation, and a hepatology clinic for patients infected with the hepatitis Cvirus. We are fortunate in having a sophisticated coagulation in case of national disaster or conflict, neither service could cope laboratory, as well as a molecular genetics laboratory, both singlehanded, and that while officers never provided leadership of which are accredited by the External Quality Assurance in giving blood themselves, the lowest ranks were coerced into Scheme in Sheffield, UK. One of the most important assets of donation, and ‘rewarded’ with 72 hours leave, confirming their the ICHCC is a superb computerised data-base management mistaken view that giving blood was harmful. system, designed at the centre, which covers and documents the details of every activity: patient registration; treatment; patient How did the government react to this? pedigree; genotypic analysis, etc... The software also captures information regarding drug use and expenditure, which is of Despite some resistance from senior military staff, the agree- value to the long-term planning of Ministry of Health and to ment of the Shah, Commander–in-Chiefof the Armed Forces, to research workers. this proposal, swept aside any impediment, and the two services Latterly, international sanctions imposed upon Iran, and the were merged, giving INBTS access to donors among the military blocking of international money transfers have had an increas- throughout the country. In consequence, both junior and senior ingly adverse effect upon our access to both medication and officers voluntarily donated their blood for the first time, on a laboratory reagents. Were it not for a small UK-registered char- regular basis. ity I set up ten years ago in London, which is dedicated to the Having consolidated the establishment of the National support of the ICHCC in Tehran, and the despatch of materials Centre in Tehran, it was then time to create Regional Services to Iran via DHL, we would soon be unable to continue our work. in the main urbancentres. Shiraz was the first such centre, soon followed by Ahvaz, Mashhad, Sari, Hamadan in 1980. Although You made difficult choices in your life with so many it was my feeling at the time, that Provincial Centres should be opportunities in both the United States and England few in number, but of high quality, the current Service has cre- you stayed in Iran. Based on your life choices how ated hundreds of centres throughout the country, over the past would you advise our youth? 33 years, and currently has some difficulty in maintaining high standards as a result. It is difficult to advise others, each of whom has different After a gestation period of some two years, and only seven aspirations and gifts. However, in general, one can say to young years of formal activity, the INBTS had succeeded in achieving Iranians that studying assiduously to achieve the best possible a breadth and scientific standard unmatched anywhere in the qualifications is a valuable asset nobody can take from you, while Eastern Mediterranean Region and well beyond. riches and material possessions may be lost in this uncertain world, as many of us have discovered to our chagrin. But you left Iran, why? Many of our compatriots will have emigrated permanently, but it is incumbent upon us all never to forget our distinguished I was unfortunately compelled to leave Iran for the United cultural heritage, and to ensure that our children and grand- Kingdom, as a matter of some urgency, in 1981. children retain their familiarity with our language and history, In the United Kingdom, I was appointed Director of the wherever they may live and work. Let us hope the future will National Blood Service in the West Midlands Region, a WHO permit many among our expatriate Iranian community, to return Collaborating Centre in Transfusion Medicine, and the largest and serve their country, which needs them and their skills more such centre in Britain at the time. In addition, I became Consultant than the countries where they currently reside. Haematologist and Senior Lecturer at the Birmingham University Department of Haematology. I also continued working actively Thank you again.

32 No. 70